It is no secret that the Rockies season will be determined in large part by the starting rotation, specifically Jorge De La Rosa. In 2009, De La Rosa won 16 games and was a catalyst in the Rockies playoff push that year. From June 5, 2009 to April 25,2010, De La Rosa went 19-4. The Rockies need a capable and healthy De La Rosa to have any shot at contention this year. But will he be the same pitcher?

In 2009, De La Rosa posted a 9.39 K/9 rate. Generally speaking, a pitcher that strikes out a batter an inning is labeled a "strikeout" pitcher, and DLR was just that with a K% of 24.2 in 2009. His average fastball that year was 93.4 mph. However, since coming back from Tommy John surgery [SMALL SAMPLE SIZE ALERT], De La Rosa's K/9 innings in 10 2/3 innings of work was 5.06, a significant drop. He also saw his K% drop to 11.3. In addition, his average fastball velocity dipped to 90.4.